Elon Musk's instructions make satellite internet 'Starlink' quickly available in Ukraine

By Tim Reckmann

Russia will begin its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, raising concerns that the communications infrastructure in Ukraine may become unusable. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has announced that SpaceX's satellite internet service 'Starlink,' which is only available in some regions, will be made available in Ukraine and that it will send connection terminals to the country.

Elon Musk Says SpaceX Starlink Satellite Internet Is Active in Ukraine
https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7n94q/elon-musk-says-spacex-starlink-satellite-internet-is-active-in-ukraine

The move was prompted by Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mikhailo Fedorov, who tweeted to Musk, 'While you're trying to colonize Mars, Russia is trying to dominate Ukraine. While you're trying to land rockets from space, Russian missiles are hitting Ukrainian citizens. Please provide Ukraine with a Starlink station and call on decent Russians to stand up.'

About 10 hours after Fedorov's tweet, Musk responded, 'Starlink service is now available in Ukraine. Devices are on their way.'

Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 26, 2022

Starlink is an internet service that SpaceX has been building for the past few years, and it provides internet connectivity around the world through more than 4,000 satellites. Starlink allows users to access the internet at speeds close to fixed broadband, even in areas where internet lines are not physically available.

Starlink's satellite broadband outperforms rivals - GIGAZINE

Users can connect to Starlink by connecting a small satellite antenna the size of a small table. Starlink has not yet been officially offered at the time of writing, and is in beta version in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Denmark, Chile, Portugal, Switzerland, Poland, Italy and Mexico.

Satellite Internet 'Starlink' announces new antenna that is more than 40% lighter - GIGAZINE

Starlink requires power for its antennas, but it does not rely on traditional communications infrastructure and cannot be physically blocked. Therefore, it is resistant to censorship, cyber attacks, and bombing of ground facilities, which is very useful in Ukraine, which is under Russian aggression at the time of writing.

In addition, in Russia, Internet connections are heavily regulated by law, and it has been reported that the use of Starlink may also be illegal.

Russia considers imposing fines of up to 1.4 million yen on users of SpaceX's satellite internet 'Starlink' - GIGAZINE